JPMorgan's Dimon flags Europe falling behind US and China at alarming speed, says wake up or...

JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon did not hold back in Dublin. Standing before European leaders and Irish officials at the Foreign Ministry event, he warned bluntly: "Europe has gone from 90 per cent US GDP to 65 per cent over 10 or 15 years. That’s not good. You’re losing", as reported by the Financial Times.

For one of the world’s most influential bankers, the message could not have been clearer. Europe is falling behind, fast.

A blunt assessment
Dimon pointed to what he sees as the heart of the problem. “We’ve got this huge, strong market and our companies are big and successful, have huge kinds of scale that are global. You have that, but less and less.”

He told the audience that unless Europe pushes through deep economic reforms, it risks drifting further behind the US and China. His advice? Finish building a true single market. “Everything should be a single market,” Dimon said. He called for “common banks, common disclosure laws, common exchange, common transparency laws, climate.”

Draghi’s €800 billion plan
Dimon’s call lines up with Mario Draghi’s demand for a massive new industrial strategy. Last year, the former European Central Bank chief urged European governments to spend €800 billion every year to keep up with the US and China. Without it, Draghi warned, Europe’s share will keep shrinking.

Praise for Ireland, concern for the rest
Dimon did single out Ireland for praise. He pointed to its open economy, clear rules, and good education system as a rare bright spot. But he did not sugar-coat his view of the wider region. Layers of red tape and fragmented rules make the whole EU less competitive than it should be.

Tariff risks no one’s watching
The JPMorgan chief also turned his fire on markets. Investors, he said, are brushing off serious threats, especially Donald Trump’s tariff plans. On Thursday, markets shrugged when Trump floated fresh duties: 50 per cent on copper, 200 per cent on pharmaceuticals, plus new levies on countries like Japan and South Korea.

“Unfortunately, I think there is complacency in the market,” Dimon said. He even brought up what traders call the Taco trade — the idea that Trump backs down from threats at the last minute. “I hate to use the word ‘Taco trade’ because I think he did the right thing to chicken out,” Dimon added.

Warning of rate hikes
Investors are also betting the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady. Dimon sees a bigger risk. “The market is pricing a 20 per cent chance [of a rate hike], I would price in a 40-50 per cent chance. I would put that as a cause for concern,” he told the room.

Dig at Democrats and Trump
Dimon did not spare America’s leaders either. He mocked the Democrats for what he called “wokeness” and called Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York, a “Marxist.” He also took a jab at Trump’s political future. When asked about the idea of Trump running again, Dimon said worrying about a third term was “premature.” US presidents are limited to two terms, but he joked that Trump might push his son Eric instead. “He’ll say, ‘Hey buddy, get in the basement. You’ve had your day in the sun!’” If that ever happened? “If he did [that], I might consider it too,” Dimon quipped, hinting he might run himself.

Europe’s leaders now face a choice. Stay as they are and keep slipping down the table, or act fast to fix what is broken. Dimon’s words land at a moment when many feel Europe’s economy is drifting. With the world splitting into rival blocs, he left no doubt about what he thinks happens if Europe does not move: “You’re losing.”